Eastern Songs
by Gweatherwax
Summary: Companion drabbles to the Sage Wisdom saga (Sage's Wisdom, Life Anew, WWC - Alternate canon, deviates from chapter 672 of the manga). Rated M for many reasons including possible citrus. Multiple pairings and relationship types, slashes of life.
1. The Rythm of Sai's Life

Disclaimer: Don't own shit.

A/N: This series of drabbles is supposed to be a companion piece to the Sage Wisdom saga (Sage's Wisdom, Life Anew, When Worlds Collide). Its drabbles bring more insight to the characters personalities and motives in those stories, a deeper view that doesn't fit much inside the saga, which focuses more on the overall changes brought to ninjadom and Naruto and Sasuke's family by the events portrayed there. As always, PLEASE REVIEW, authors need love too :D

Btw, the songs used as titles all do exist (except for this first drabble, it's a line from The Rythm of The Night). This is also the only drabble where the song is not entirely fitting with the theme, so feel free to listen to the other songs while reading their chapters, it adds to the mood I wanted each to have.

This first is dedicated to wikedsinn from Y!Gal, who loved Sai and Kankurou before I even knew other people actually shipped them as a couple, and to everyone who loves Sai and agrees with me he's one of the best developed characters in the whole Naruto series. He's just fucking AWESOME like that.

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><p>Sai sat back in his ANBU Commander chair and put his feet up on his desk.<p>

He wondered if Tsunade was fully aware of what she was doing when she had accepted his suggestions about changing the ANBU structure, which lead to his current position.

If she didn't, tough titty. Sai had worked hard as hell to start his own little revolution, and nothing would get in the way of it after he started.

Sai had been serious when he said he'd accompany Naruto to learn about bonds, and now that he did have enough intellectual baggage to begin understanding normal people's minds, he felt ready to begin pushing them to where he wanted.

This was a place he had been once before, with his Root brother. A place where emotions helped instead of fucking things up further, where bonds were acknowledged and worked to serve as tools to achieve the peace necessary to free people so they could pursue other things besides war, politics and basic survival.

Because Sai had realized, by reading and interacting with people, that the human experience was a thrilling, wondrous thing when people weren't reduced to their deeper animal instincts by necessity.

People could create marvelous things when they weren't consumed by fear. They could learn so much, and love so much, and share so much beyond violence and hate. They could laugh, and cry for other reasons than sadness. They could, if they put their minds into it, reach the stars and amaze the gods themselves.

Much of what lie in the human mind beyond war Sai had learned from his liaison with Kankurou. The puppet-master had shown him the love he had for his constructs, especially the ones no ninja saw, the puppets he had made to help disabled children – of which Sand had a large number – to overcome their physical, mental and emotional issues.

It was Sai, who had learned about sexuality with Kankurou, who suggested the puppet-master to develop a series of puppets to help people who had been sexually traumatized to recover, and who convinced Gaara, after showing him Kankurou's secret work with the children (for which he got a mouthful from his friend with benefits/lover/boyfriend/thingy first, and a heartfelt thank you later), to let Kankurou train other puppeteer ninja as therapists instead of warriors. And begin working in re-programming ANBU operatives back to a more normal frame of mind, better suited for times of peace.

That included a partnership between all villages to seed what would become the Rescue and Retrieval Special Units, who prized in using non-violent (except in the Uchiha-Uzumaki twins' team, but no one in the ninja nations had been able to decide if what they did was actual violence, since there was no pain and no death involved in their extremely unorthodox tactics) methods to complete their missions.

And right afterwards Sai and Shikamaru, who was working steadily on the political front with other politic councilors from the capital cities of the other countries to balance political power around a less volatile structure than the ninja villages had proven to be, had managed to convince Sasuke through Naruto to crack down the former Torture and Interrogation Unit of Konoha and rebuild it from within with better methods of intelligence acquisition.

Naruto went through with his old promise to Itachi, despite his own fears for Sasuke's well-being in working so closely with Ibiki and his jealousy over not having had that idea first (as what held him back from turning into an obnoxious little shit of a tyrant back then was pretty much the fact that Tsunade had flipped him the finger after he asked her when was she going to retire), and torture was quickly becoming a thing of the past, despite Ibiki's protests.

As Konoha ANBU Commander, the first act Sai had signed was an order to all ANBU to abandon the masks they had used since the beginning of the organization. Those masks would now be displayed in a museum, to remind the population of the dark times before peace.

This measure had almost led to rebellion from over half the ANBU personnel, a rebellion he had defused by stating that anyone had the right to see the expression of the person who was about to kill them, even if under a henge. And hiding behind a mask was dishonorable. That had been enough to trick the personnel into going with the idea.

Sai's secret objective was to rebuild the notion of human life being too worthy to be disposed of unless absolutely necessary to prevent further deaths, through re-sensitizing and reconnecting the operatives with their own humanity.

He had vowed not to ever have any of his men take the path Uchiha Itachi did. No matter how difficult solving problems such as rebellions and coup d'états through other means could be, he would never have anyone become as broken as was necessary to view slaughtering whole families, or their own loved ones, ever again.

He played with the tiny puppet Kankurou had made for him. It looked like a mini-Kankurou, and had a tiny seal inside that would activate with a bit of Sai's chakra and make the puppet blow him a kiss. Sai smiled at it, wondering why Kankurou still loved him even though they weren't exclusive, Sai had admittedly and publicly turned into a slut (he snorted when remembering Kankurou had asked him if he wanted to get rid of the "relief puppet" he had given him, after Sai told him he had hosted his first "sexy party", and had just given him a knowing smirk when he had adamantly refused to do it), and they lived such separate daily lives. Maybe the man was more like Temari than his brother (though Shikamaru's entire routine was held on a tight leash by her and his other lovers had to pass her scrutiny before he'd even consider anything more intimate then a friendship).

Well, he had no qualms with that, Sai thought as he put the doll on his desk and blew a little kiss to it.


	2. The Sore Feet Song

**A/N**: This one is for Sakura, because she deserves to be portrayed as the flawed human being she is without being bashed on, and for Lee, who isn't half as dumb as people think he is. Enjoy, and please PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW... this ole witch craves critique!

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><p><strong>The Sore Feet Song<strong>

Sakura knew that she was attracted to Lee since the day she gave him that physical and realized he made any other living Konoha man look like a wimp (and that included both Sasuke and Naruto).

More than that, Sakura acknowledged the fact she was definitely a shallow, egocentric woman, at least in regards to her love life. She wasn't a bad person, had never been. As a friend, she believed herself to be as good as any other.

It was just that _she just couldn't stop_ seeing herself as the heroine in a romantic novel when it came to her feelings. Ino had pointed out extensively how in love Sakura was with herself, and Sakura was honest enough, after Sasuke's explosive and very official exit from the closet had hit her in the face with the force of a freight train (making her, like many emotionally strong people – which she definitely was even though for appearance's sake she often acted like she wasn't – in the same situation, both get over her infatuation and drop the bullshit cloak she had woven around herself), to recognize it as the hard truth it was.

Sakura was a good friend, a great medic, a reasonable person and a shitty potential lover who had no idea how to build a decent relationship with anyone.

When she told Lee that, the day she asked him on a date during a joint mission, she was **very** surprised by his response.

"I know that. You never fooled me, you know." Lee had said with a nonchalant smile on his face, before sitting in the shadow besides the clearing where he was doing his morning workout, and grabbing a water bottle. "So, can I pick you up at eight next Saturday?"

Sakura's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Wha-whu… wait, you still _want_ to go out with me even though I'm asking you out just because you're the hottest straight guy I know who's still single?"

Lee dried the sweat off his face with the towel hanging around his neck before answering.

"Yup. I know exactly what I'm getting into with you, and I wouldn't have it any other way." He gave her an amused look, and rested his body over his elbows, giving her a thorough once-over.

Sakura plopped on the ground beside him, watching him in silent fascination for a few minutes.

He let his words sink in, and gave her a sly smile.

"You see, Sakura" and Sakura was so flabbergasted with his attitude that she didn't even notice he had dropped the honorific he had always used when talking to her "When I first met you I was also only drawn in by your looks. Good thing you were still holding a torch for Sasuke back then, and kept doing so until recently, because if you didn't I wouldn't have got to know the real you. And **that** Sakura is much better than the Sakura you think you are."

Sakura blinked in awe, and hugged her knees.

"That real Sakura, who is rugged, cold and ruthless when it comes to what she wants, but who can empathize with other people's feelings, who has no qualms in walking all over anyone or anything to achieve her goals, but who is also able to be truly kind and understanding, that Sakura who hides behind a weak, whiny, stupid girl façade because she will do **ANYTHING**, no matter the cost, to make reality bend to her wishes, but who isn't afraid to show how emotionally strong and level-headed she really is when she is truly needed, is the woman I've wanted since I saw her first, when she decided to go under Tsunade's tutelage."

"That woman is the only person strong enough to withstand and understand the things I do to myself to achieve my goals. She is the only one that can relate to my own selfishness and understand that if I believe what I want is more important than anyone else, including her, that doesn't make me a bad person. She won't be mad at me because I don't give a rat's ass about what she thinks about my training schedule, or that I choose to spend time with Gai sensei instead of with her, or that I don't really give two shits about what people think when they look at my hairstyle or clothes, because she knows that the **only** opinion I really value in the end is _my own_."

"And I'm totally fine with you being with me for my body alone, because when you realize I'm the **only** man that can give the real you the way to make reality become what **you** wish it to be, when you realize I'm the **only** man that won't argue about massaging your sore feet and pretending to be sympathetic to your complaining after a 72-hour hospital shift or mission that you actually _wanted_ to go through, but would _never_ admit to having enjoyed, or about you pretending not to be embarrassed that your parents lack ambition, who won't resent any other of the things you'd rather do instead of spending time with besides having mind-blowing sex that will leave you limping for days afterwards, and still will gladly go to your boring, pea-brained parent's badly cooked meals where they'll talk and talk and talk about all the things they expect of you which secretly _are part of what you want too_, but embarrass you to death regardless… you will fall in love with me so hard, Sakura, **so hard**, people will see the heart-shaped dust cloud rising in the sky from thousands of miles away."

After that speech, Lee kissed Sakura, took her to her tent, and made love to her for **eight** hours straight, nonstop, before they began heading back to Konoha (which is why Kiba could smell his scent all over her when they ran into his team).

_And_ he rubbed her sore feet as she sat on her house's doorstep after limping all the way back, before giving her the nice guy pose and going home.

It took a couple of years of Lee's incredible persistence and patience, but yes, when Sakura finally fell in love with him, even the Raikage sent a bird to Tsunade to ask what the hell was that big-ass heart-shaped dust cloud over the Fire Country.


	3. Underdog

For Ino and Chouji. Ty and please review!

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><p>Ino was busy carrying packages to and fro the new hospital when she heard her team mates talking nearby. She decided to push the two lazy asses back to work, but stopped as she heard her name being mentioned.<p>

"So… me and Temari are already set up, what about you or Ino?" Shikamaru asked Chouji.

"Dunno. I'm not in a hurry, and I really don't know what kind of man would want someone like Ino pretends to be." Chouji answered.

"What do you mean? She's pretty." Shikamaru asked.

"Pretty doesn't cut it, tho. And it's not as if she made any effort to show she has more to offer. Pity, because she is a lot more than she looks like." Chouji answered.

"Yeah. I think you're the only one who really appreciates that… whatever really different, special thing you see in her besides her being a great team mate." Shikamaru drawled.

Ino felt a pang in her heart.

"She's the only woman that ever saw me as anything except a fucking VIP ticket into a respected clan. Fine, she thinks I'm a worthless scrub unworthy of her attention, not that I really want it to begin with, but at least she seems to wish me to be happy even if I physically disgust her. It shows more depth of character than many other girls have." Chouji said with an angry tone.

"True, that. Too bad she thinks that's not what men want." Shikamaru agreed.

"Too bad she thinks a good man would want the same crap she has been taught to want." Chouji sighed. "Who knows, maybe she'll luck out in the end and find an arrogant asshole with good looks that can actually appreciate her worth."

"Yeah, or at least one that's straight" Shikamaru laughed.

After that day, Ino felt her curiosity spark whenever she saw Chouji around the village by himself. And, sure enough, many girls flocked to her chubby team mate, forcing her to drop her belief that Chouji had no admirers at all because of his fat.

She also saw how much time Chouji spent at the science section of the library, and how his mother was the first person that Tsunade called when someone showed up with extreme metabolic imbalance at the hospital – and, by means of her jutsu, she found out that the medicines and scientific knowledge the portly woman had about physiology surpassed even the Godaime's.

One day, when Chouji had come into the flower shop with a shopping list, he timidly asked Ino if he could help with the ailing bonsai she was ready to give up on, and, after examining it and actually tasting the earth it was buried in, suggested a few nutrients, a change in watering frequency and trimming patterns. A week later, the bonsai was healthy again, and Ino thought Chouji was handsome for the first time in her life.

Ino's mother saw the twinkle in her daughter's eyes, and the next day she showered the statue of Hotei at the tiny shrine where she prayed every day for her daughter to find a good, reliable, kind and wise husband that would make her happy, with mochi balls.

And apparently Hotei enjoyed the gift, for a few months later, Ino and Chouji were dating.

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><p><strong>AN**: Hotei (布袋) Best known in the Western world as the Laughing Buddha, Hotei is likely the most popular of the gods. His image graces many temples, restaurants, and amulets. Originally based on a Chinese Chan monk, Hotei has become a deity of contentment and abundance.


	4. To Wish Impossible Things

**A/N**: To **Korregidora**: The eight hours are thoroughly explained in chapter 6 of Life Anew, and come up again in the first chapter of When Worlds Collide, if you want to see a more, er, detailed yaoi description of it. And I seriously think that's the only thing way to explain Sakura's actions in the manga without transforming her into a very poorly written bi-dimensional character. As for Lee, come on, nobody THAT driven can be a complete doofus, can they? I don't think so.

To wikedsinn (who came as a guest here, ty sinn!): there will be at least one more Sai/Kankuro drabble, I don't know if it'll be really smutty or actually more romantic because all of a sudden Kankuro turned out to have a caring, sensitive side and his puppets reflect that. I'm open to ideas, everyone!

As always, please review. I'm serious. I need reviews to gauge how well you all understand or like my stories.

This is for Akimichi Hariko and the Uchiha-Uzumaki twins. I HIGHLY recommend listening to the song that gives it its title (To Wish for Impossible Things by The Cure) while you read it.

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><p>" 'sup?"<p>

The beautiful black boy looked up as he cleaned his unusual set of weapons, and motioned what he had in his hands.

The short, curvy girl plopped down beside him and crossed her legs.

They enjoyed the shade for a while, the only sound the rhythmic clinks of iron against stone.

"What do you want?" the Akimichi girl asked.

The boy looked at her quizzically, then at his weapons, then back at her.

"Is this a trick question?" the Uchiha-Uzumaki teen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, ha ha. Veeeeery funny." Hariko replied, rolling her deep chocolate-colored eyes.

"Ok, you're gonna have to be a little clearer to me right now, I'm kinda concentrated on my work, you know, my amazing deductive powers aren't focused on philosophical questions right now." Amachi gave her an amused smirk when she huffed and blew a lock of hair off her face.

"Yeah, I know. I'd ask your other half but The Chihuahua won't let me come near, and I'm allergic to dogs." She pouted.

Amachi snickered. "You and Ashi look like my parents so much it's freaking scary, either bickering or jumping at each other's throats" he laughed.

She pulled on his hair and he laughed even more. "Don't you even dare compare your parents' beautifully almost-tragic love story with me and that Inuzuka fleabag."

He huffed. "Ok, now that you made me mess up, wassup?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

She gave him a meaningful look. "You always say what people wish for themselves is important, but you never told me what your wish is."

His black eyes dulled and he looked away. "I don't wish for anything, Hariko-chan" he mumbled in a low voice.

She turned his head back to look into his eyes. "Don't lie to me" she said, touching his forehead with hers.

He sighed. "How can I wish for anything if I'm not whole, Hariko-chan?" he said, in a quiet voice.

"But… if you were whole altogether again, what would you wish for yourself?" she asked.

The boy gave her eyes a sincere, longing look, and then stood up.

"It only hurts to wish for impossible things. I have to go now, see ya." He said in the same quiet tone, while picking up his weapons and tool kit.

Hariko watched him go, and then watched the field for a long time, wondering about impossible things.


	5. It can't rain all the time

**A/N**: The practice to offer incense, candles, flowers or food to the dead without proper guidance and rules is extremely frowned upon by the Yoruba tradition based religions, and also by Buddhism. In Japanese traditional Buddhism, as I was told by a monk, the offerings you put on your ancestor shrine can only be put by that shrine and there are strict rules to what you can offer, when, and for how long, for reasons I cannot disclose due to respect for that religion.

In my own religion, which worships Yoruba deities, the explanation for not offering anything to the dead, at least without express order and guidance, is exactly the one the twins make in this drabble. I can disclose it, and not the Buddhist explanation, because not only I've based many of the spiritual aspects depicted in my stories on what my own religion teaches, but also because my religion doesn't require secrecy in the reasons for prohibitions.

If you would like to honor your beloved dead by Buddhist traditional ways, please consult a monk in a temple that follows the specific line of Buddhism (there are many and each has its rituals) to find out what you should do and what are the rules you should follow to properly do it. Every religion has its rituals and often the reasons behind the rules for them aren't disclosed to the non-initiated, but those reasons do exist and it's a measure of good manners to respect those rules.

Again, the song that titles this drabble sets the mood for it.

This is for Kakashi, and is set in the morning after the last paragraph of Life Anew.

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><p>Kakashi stood looking at the stone, looking at the names under the rain.<p>

It was the fifth year since the fourth shinobi war had ended.

And still Kakashi came every day at dawn.

"You know, what you're doing isn't healthy" a boy's voice sounded, distracting him from his mourning.

Kakashi looked to the side to see the Uchiha-Uzumaki twins standing next to him.

"Thought you couldn't be near these kinds of places" he said.

"No bodies buried here, so the energy is in a safe place." Ishoo said. "Seriously, you should drop the mourning already" the girl added.

"I know what's healthy for me, now scram." Kakashi growled.

The twins raised an eyebrow each.

"Who's talking about you? It's not healthy for them." Amachi said.

Kakashi turned to the children with an angry face. "Why? They're dead, aren't they?"

"So? You have to let them move on, for as long as you keep mourning like this they can't go anywhere. Everyone who knows anything knows that, didn't your parents tell you that when you were a kid?" Ishoo grumbled, glaring at him.

Kakashi blinked, feeling as if he had been slapped, and frowned. "That… that's not what we're taught here. The priests say our friends will be waiting for us forever and that we had to feed their souls to make them wait. Hence the offerings." He pointed to the incense, flowers and mochi at the foot of the stone that he replaced every day.

Amachi and Ishoo looked at him with shock.

"Shit, no wonder this place was bursting with dead people! Lemme guess, this is one of those thousand-year traditions, isn't it?" Amachi asked.

"Yes" Kakashi looked at them with a confused look before asking why.

"Figures that idiot alien would mess up with the entire cycle of life…" Ishoo sighed.

"If dead people's souls keep stuck in the places they died the energy that bound them to their bodies can't go away and they can't reincarnate. It usually happens when the soul feels there's something left to resolve, but if what you say is true then anyone who's still being mourned would be stuck here until people stop reinforcing the energy with the one they give themselves by buying, handling and offering those things. You're all tying the dead to their bodies, no wonder Edo-Tensei works; it probably just moves the energy chains from their original bodies to the bodies bound by the jutsu." Amachi said, and held a hand out to hold Kakashi when the former copy-nin paled and wavered.

"But… Naruto and Sasuke are Ashura and Indra's reincarnations…" Kakashi grumbled in disbelief.

"No, they carry the same _chakra_, they're not the same _souls_. Chakra patterns can repeat themselves down the genetic line, that doesn't mean the souls living in those bodies are the same. Souls aren't genetic traits, Kakashi-sensei. That's why Madara and Hashirama came back as Edo-Tensei even with Papa and Tou-chan still alive" Ishoo told him.

"I've _trapped_ them?" Kakashi whispered, horrified. All his dead friends… the entire village's dead population, unable to move on, it was too much for him.

"Calm down, I set all the others free last night; I can do it to them too." Amachi caught him in his arms and tried awkwardly to soothe him.

"Will I ever meet them away if they go?" Kakashi asked in a small voice, tears running down his eyes.

"Course you will, don't be stupid. Shit, some damn people, you just can't ever get rid of, no matter how hard you try. Like Papa and Tou-chan, or me and… er, never mind." Ishoo held herself back and both twin faces suddenly looked away for a moment.

"I'm… _so sorry_" Kakashi sobbed, touching the stone. To think of all the people who had been used as Edo-Tensei, not that bringing back the four Hokage hadn't been a great idea, but… all those other people, forced to fight their loved ones… remembering it brought a chill to his bones.

"Don't be, better late than never" Amachi said, grinning at him as the rain stopped falling. He let go of Kakashi as his crying stopped, and dug a hole in the ground with his own kunai, burying the offerings and letting a drop of his own blood fall over them. Immediately, earthworms, insects and mold started covering the items, and Amachi swept the earth over them, as the rain stopped falling.

Kakashi stood up and silently said his farewells while holding the children close to him.

"See? It even stopped raining. Wanna go get breakfast? Aniki makes amazing bread." Ishoo said a few minutes later, pulling on his shirt.

Kakashi laughed. "Fresh-baked bread? Will you let me steal some of Sasuke's coffee?" he asked as they walked away.

As the moisture evaporated, the silhouette of smiles could be seen for a fleeting moment.


	6. A chain of flowers

**A/N**: song is by The Cure, sets the mood and is definitely worth listening to while reading this. Please review.

This one is Naruto's.

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><p>Naruto never told or otherwise let anyone know, but sometimes he'd have near-panic attacks like he had had when the Raikage had put a death warrant on Sasuke before the war.<p>

And they happened at the stupidest times, though thankfully he had always been alone after the first.

One happened one day at sunrise, when he and Sasuke had gotten a couple of days off and gone, of all stupid things two men in love might get their heads into, fishing for salmon in the Land of Rivers. Sasuke's idea, and the day before the man had spent rolling around in laughter as Naruto tried (and failed) to catch salmon jumping upriver to breed.

In the end, Naruto had decided to use his chakra arms to grab the fish, but Kurama and the other beasts had adamantly refused to give him chakra to such ridiculous purposes, so the blonde had to watch the smirking bastard walk a couple of feet upstream from where he was standing and simply pick up a huge-ass fat salmon with his bare hands for their dinner, like it wasn't even slippery, the smug asshole.

It wasn't Naruto's fault even the youngest bear cubs were on their fifteenth catch while he had yet to catch more than a cold, damn animals were like genetically bred for that kind of work.

So it was that in the next morning Naruto had woken alone, got up, and after a quick stop at the bushes had gone after Sasuke to see him sitting on a rock watching the sunrise, the dawn light outlining his peaceful-looking feature.

Naruto couldn't stop himself remembering how terrified he had been of losing Sasuke for good, and had to hide in the woods and wait for the wave of panic to pass, the fear of losing him, of this fragile, idyllic time being shattered by some monstrous fate yet to come and against which he'd be powerless.

Another had been at his first visit to the Fire Country's Capital City with his family. The daimyo had a huge cherry orchard, and while Naruto discussed matters of state (a discussion that was surprisingly not boring), Sasuke and the twins had gone to see the spring awesomeness of the entire orchard in full bloom (Sasuke had told him his mother had talked about that when he was very little, how the daimyo opened the gardens so the gentry could see the trees bursting with gentle beauty, and how he had wanted to see that as a child, so, after beating the shit out of the blonde for snorting and calling him gay, he said they would have to take the twins to see it, to which Naruto had agreed and said "still gay, though", for which Sasuke beat even more shit out of him).

After the talks, and tea, and more talks, Naruto had gone into the orchard to look for his family and found Sasuke sitting under one of the trees, tying flowers to string with the children, while apparently (from the children's enraptured looks) telling them a story.

He stopped on his tracks next to a stone pillar and watched the sunset light playing on the three figures, the wind softly tousling Sasuke and Ishoo's hair and making Amachi's wild locks move like a living thing, the falling flowers showering father and children.

Again, the feeling that this happiness was too much to be true, too fragile, too perfect not to be taken away in a split second overtook him and he lost his wind, dropping to his knees behind the pillar in tears, feeling as if his heart burned in his chest.

And as the years went by, the attacks kept happening, until after Ishoo had come of age and life had gushed mercilessly out of her the first time, and the panic became a constant, dull, ominous feeling that made Naruto, who had never prayed before, silently beg the gods for mercy every night before he slept.


	7. Who Wants To Live Forever

**A/N**: The crackling bread depicted here is NOT the American crackling cornbread version, it is the Italian version I grew up with, which is savory with wheat flour dough. There is a link for a picture of it at my profile.

If anyone wants the recipe I'll translate it and post it in there too, haven't seen any recipes for it in English yet and it's seriously sinful.

This one is for Inuzuka Ashi, that short pile of goo. It's set shortly after the first coming of the Ookami in WWC.

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><p>Kiba knocked on the Hokage's home front door and steeled himself not to drool at the tantalizing smell of pork crackling.<p>

"Yo dog-breath, what's up?" Naruto said after he opened the door. "Want some breakfast? Amachi made crackling bread." The Hokage wiggled his eyebrows.

Kiba wondered if the end of the ninja world wouldn't end up coming through that boy's wicked baking. He had had to double his training regimen already because Hinata always got a loaf whenever Amachi decided to make something new, along with the recipe, and the calories went straight to his ass. And her hips, but the calories actually _looked good_ there.

"Um, no, actually I came to borrow the kids to help me with something." He answered, looking over Naruto's shoulder to the table next to the open kitchen's counter, from where the Uchiha-Uzumakis waved at him.

"Be right there, lemme just pack Hinata-chan's and your mom's loaves!" the kids yelled, rising from the table.

Five agonizing minutes later, Kiba and Ashi's team mates were headed to the Inuzuka compound.

"Hope Tsume-san likes it, the cracklings come from Hariko's mom, they're _really_ good." Ishoo commented with a smile, and Kiba grinned back at her.

"Can't wait to see Hana's face when you give it to mom, she's on a diet." Kiba laughed. "Ok, Ashi's having one of his little moments, can you snap him out of it?" he asked them.

"New songs, eh? Please tell me you've taken pictures" Amachi snickered, and Kiba smirked at him.

They delivered Tsume's loaf to her and Kiba headed home with Hinata's after that, pointing the way Ashi had been seen heading to last night.

Not that he needed, the boy's uncontrolled sobbing could be heard all the way back at the main house.

The twins reached him after a couple of minutes and both slapped the back of his head in unison before yanking his earplugs off.

"What did Kakashi-sensei tell you about listening to sad love songs, Ashi-baka?" Ishoo growled at him.

The Inuzuka boy sniffled indignantly, wiping his snotty face, and the twins shook their heads. No one who ever saw Inuzuka Ashi in action would believe this sorry, sappy sight was the same cunning, merciless ninja who stroked fear in the hearts of countless criminals.

"How the fuck do you want me to ever respect your stupid ass when you bawl like that over stupid love songs?" Amachi asked, crossing his arms and giving him a hard look.

Ashi scowled and turned his head away. They would never understand the pressure over him. How could they, anyway, when their soul was designed to live in suffering forever? His breath hitched.

The twins huffed, rolling their eyes, and Ishoo pushed a small paper bag on his hands.

"Here. Stop crying and don't mention this to anyone, I'll deny it forever, mutt."

Ashi opened the bag and his eyes widened as he pulled out a charcoal biscuit, his favorite. He looked up from the log he was sitting on, into a deadpanned dark face and a blushing, scowling pink one facing away from him.

In that moment, the boy knew he might not live forever, but he was able to love them until the end of days.


End file.
